How to care for your herbs

Friday

Sep 8, 2017 at 1:24 PMSep 12, 2017 at 8:16 AM

By Ruste Foster feature.an@gmail.com

Preserving the bounty

My garden continues to produce an abundance of herbs. I’ve shared them with friends and neighbors, and enjoyed them in favorite summer recipes. The oregano and basil plants keep on multiplying and I need to make a decision – preserve them or let them go. If I plant something, I want it to flourish, so it’s hard to let healthy good herbs go to waste. The only thing to do is harvest and preserve them for winter cooking.

Of course, I don’t have the desire, time, or climate to grow every herb possible. Like most cooks, I use a mixture of store-bought and homegrown varieties. Nestled among the flowers, my favorites - basil, oregano, dill and rosemary - make a fragrant addition with pretty blooms and leafy textures. Butterflies and bees like them as much as I do.

There’s more than one way to preserve herbs, but air-drying has been the easiest avenue for me. It works best for low-moisture herbs. Once they’re hanging somewhere in the house, I can pretty much forget about them, except for an occasional progress check.

Harvesting can be done throughout the summer. Since these hearty herbs will continue to grow until a heavy frost, you can keep the plant balanced in growth by removing the healthiest stems where they connect to the main plant. If you’ve added chemicals or fertilizers directly to the foliage, you’ll want to remove that residue by rinsing them in the kitchen sink. As you rinse, remove damaged leaves (and critters?!) and then place the herbs on paper towels to drain. Gently pat them with a top layer of paper towels to aid the drying.

Basic items are simple: string, scissors, and a clothes hanger. Once the herbs are free of water, you can put the sprigs in bundles of six and tie each one together at the top. Herbs in their whole form last longer, so it’s best to keep them in their original length.

Fewer sprigs in each bundle aids faster drying, also. Attach the bundles to a clothes hanger (or a wooden dowel), and place it in a well-ventilated area that you can monitor easily.

As the herbs dry, they will become brittle and might crumble if someone bumps into them in your drying area. If you think this is a possibility, place the bundle in a paper bag (no plastic bags). Lunch-size bags work well for shorter herbs. Larger paper bags you’re recycling are great because you can trim them to fit the herb bundle. Use a second piece of string to tie the top of the bag to the hanger.

If you are covering the herbs with bags, it’s a good idea to write its name on the bag. Punch a few small holes or cut a slit in one side of the bag so you can monitor the drying process. The herbs should be dried and ready for storing in 7-10 days. A good way to check to make sure an herb is completely dried is to rub it between your fingers. It should feel brittle and fall apart easily.

Success in storing dried herbs revolves around using air-tight containers. Colored glass jars or metal tins with screw on lids work well. Plastic containers will work but be sure the plastic doesn’t contain harmful components. Again, make a label for the containers with the name of herb and date of harvest. Place them in a cool, dry area to block as much light as possible. Direct sunlight will shorten the herb’s life.

If you haven’t tried preserving herbs, you’re in the majority. You’re busy, and we live in a time of quick access at grocery stores, time-efficient recipes and super take-out food options. A more than ample supply of packaged spices sits ready on shelves in the baking aisle, in addition to fresh herbs in the produce section.However, if you’re looking for a new kitchen adventure to connect you to your homegrown roots, then think about giving this a try.

Someone in my past had a strong cooking gene. I know it’s in my blood and it rocks my heart, combined with the poet in me that directs me down a path less trodden. It’s a creative spirit hovering above us on the back porch.

Basil cocktails

Basil can be frozen successfully if you blanche it first. Harvest the leaves, place in a pot of boiling water for about 2 minutes. Drain and immerse in a bowl of icy water for about 3 minutes. Pat dry on paper towels and remove stems. Place in a baggie and spread it out, not in a clump; spreading the basil allows you to break needed amounts off easily.

Or you may want to make basil cocktails. No alcohol involved! I refer to them as cocktails because they can be quite intoxicating for a bland recipe, and they freeze well.

Place a ratio of three parts blanched basil to one part olive oil in a blender and mix well. You can add other spices for an extra kick to this mixture. For example, grated garlic and sea salt or lemon zest combine to create a savory flavor. Once mixed, pour mixture into tiny containers and freeze (an ice tray works well). Then place them in freezer bags/containers for quick additions when preparing meals. Label the containers with herb name and date of preparation.

Pure olive oil?

A great cook recently brought it to my attention that all olive oils on the shelf are not the same.

For me this is a game breaker. I want pure olive oil because of its robust flavor and health benefits. So, read the labels before purchasing olive oil. If it doesn’t say pure olive oil, then it isn’t. It’s a combination of oils. That’s why they may be on sale. They’re cheaper but not necessarily the same.

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